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Sunday, November 16, 2014

Battle of Lexington

For the first time, College GameDay is headed to the Army-Navy game this year. Not to be outdone, I'm taking in a military showdown myself. It looks like last month's trip to Clemson won't be the last Random Act of Football for the season for me. Next weekend, I'll be headed north to Lexington, VA for the Military Classic of the South.

The annual showdown between The Citadel and VMI pits two of the nation's six senior military colleges against one another in the biggest military matchup outside of the service academies. With VMI's recent realignment, the two are once again conference foes in the Southern Conference. It's no secret I'm a fan of pageantry, and this game will have it in spades, from the corps of cadets, to the VMI Regimental Band (no word yet of Citadel's going band on the road in this one) and all that goes with it. Hell, the two battle for a Silver Shako.

Because I'm seldom one to visit a new place and simply get in and get out, I may be taking in a bit of history while I'm in town. Lexington has its share of Civil War history - much of it Confederate - including the burial place of Stonewall Jackson and his former house. It's worth noting that both institutions played a significant role in the Civil War. There's also a marker commemorating the Lexington Triad, the three national social fraternities (Alpha Tau Omega, Kappa Alpha Order, and Sigma Nu) founded in Lexington (or, in the case of ATO, elsewhere by VMI students), and my own honor society, Omicron Delta Kappa, was founded at Washington and Lee, also in Lexington.

I look forward to what promises to be a different tailgating and pregame experience. Alcohol is prohibited on post; there's parking throughout Lexington as well, and I'm unsure of that is where, culturally, the tailgates with alcohol take place. I may forego it anyway, however, both because I'm traveling solo and because there's plenty to catch on post in the form of gameday parades. There's no telling what may add to the atmosphere with Citadel in town as well, so I intend to keep my options open. On the back end, there's a good chance I make my way to Blue Lab Brewing, not far from VMI.

As always, while I'm up there, feel free to keep an eye on this space, or, for more real time information, follow on Facebook, Twitter, or Fancred.